Cuddles
by AmyNChan
Summary: Prompt given by Snavej, upon whom I place full responsibility for this fanfiction: "You know, I always wanna cuddle you, but you don't look like you'd like it..." "I see. So what is the logic behind cuddling me now?" "I need cuddles. You need cuddles. The whole world needs cuddles." "Are you going to cuddle the world now?" "No, just you." "Why?" "I just wanna cuddle you."


Oliver loved his wife. He truly did. But there were many days when he absolutely had to get his work done. A branch of his own in Japan was an honor, a freedom, and a responsibility. The higher-ups refused to breathe down his neck for his effective manner of running his business. Just so long as his paperwork was returned to them on time.

It was a concept he'd tried to explain to Mai several times over. And seeing as she wasn't up to the level of proficiency needed in English yet to help him with the papers, he would have to remain behind and finish them himself.

Typically, he would do this alone. Even finish additional work that needed sorting. It was something he often did when he was a bachelor. When the only person who waited for him was his mentor and friend. A man who shared similar enough tendencies where returning late was not an issue.

But that was before he married Mai. That was before her insistence of going home became as regular as clockwork. That was before she insisted that if he would not return home with her, she would wait for him in the front office and file paperwork of her own until he was ready to go. He appreciated the effort she put forth, however…

Oliver closed the last file. If he were honest, this really was work he could do tomorrow. Or rather, later today, seeing as the time was now one in the morning. He replaced the file in his cabinet, locked the drawer shut, and gathered his coat. Mai would be waiting for him in the lobby, and if he was right, then she would most likely have fallen asleep on her desk.

* * *

Mai valiantly attempted to keep her eyes open, staring at the kanji swimming before her. Her brain was fogged over from lack of sleep, but she was determined. The last time she had left before Naru, he'd gotten in at four in the morning. Four in the morning! And he'd gone to work the next day at six!

Her husband needed to take care of himself. He had a strict dietary guide to help him control his abilities and exercised just fine, but she worried about the amount of sleep he was getting. Finding him napping in his office was adorable the first time she found him as such, and truth be known she still found her heart melting a little whenever she saw his peaceful sleeping face in the middle of the day. But this was ridiculous. He needed to get to bed sooner and have a consistent amount of sleep to prepare for the times he couldn't afford to nap. He knew as well as she did that napping in the middle of the day—astral projection nonwithstanding—was a bad idea on cases.

Still, her resolution couldn't save her from her blurry eyes, heavy lids, and sluggish hands. She jolted once more into the realm of the conscious—the only barely conscious. Sleepily, she wondered what the time was. She lifted a hand to support her heavy head. Maybe just a few moments of shuteye wouldn't hurt…

"Mai."

The woman in question felt her hackles raise and startled out of her lull. She swiftly calmed when she recognized the voice and turned to her husband. "Naru! Are you ready to go home?"

She could have danced in jubilee when he nodded. But she was too tired to make an attempt. Instead, she smiled and dropped her files into her cabinet. With a swift turn of the lock, everything was secure and she and her husband were out of the office. They headed out into the brisk early morning air.

"Mai…"

"'s cold."

She felt rather than heard his sigh. It wasn't defeat or resignation, but something else. She felt his arm raise and his hand settle on the other side of her waist, keeping her close as though she hadn't just practically burrowed into his side. Acceptance. It made her smile.

"You know," she began, keeping her eyes down to try and match pace with Naru. Her husband's gait was normally quite longer than hers, but he adjusted it when they walked together so she could keep up. It was fun to see their feet fall side-by-side. "I used to think that you'd hate it if I cuddled up to you like this. It took me so long to even try."

Her husband gave a low hum of recognition, but she knew it was his cue for her to continue.

"With the fact that you never touched anyone and that Masako only got to hold onto you when she was blackmailing you, I thought you'd prefer it if I didn't latch onto you."

"I never turned you away when you held onto me during a case," said her husband, bringing the fact to light. "I would have thought the fact that you were an exception made itself clear when we began to date."

Mai loosed a soft chuckle, her breath puffing in the air. "Well, excuse me if I wanted verbal permission first."

Mai didn't know that Naru had turned until she felt his lips press against the top of her head. What she did know was what he meant by the action. It filled her with a pleasant warmth. While her husband was not always good with words when it came to what he was feeling, he had his own language that he spoke. Understanding it had cleared up many disagreements between the two over the years.

"I see you're comfortable cuddling me now," observed Naru as they continued homeward. Mai laughed. It was usually she who pointed out the self-evident.

"Yeah, well I need cuddles. You need cuddles. You know what? The whole world needs cuddles! Cuddles for the woooorld!"

So she was tired. It was one-something in the morning. She was allowed to be tired. And by her husband's subdued chuckle, it sounded as though he agreed.

"Are you going to cuddle the entire world, then?"

Mai hummed and felt his fingers press lightly into her side. It honestly tickled and the action almost made her hold her answer from him for a little while.

The late hour and the night air, however, prompted a swift but playful answer from her.

"No, just you."

"Just me?" asked he, his thumb rubbing up and down on her side. She had soothed his insecurities concerning herself often enough for him to now know to take her at her word. It was the only thing she could give him and long-gone were the days where he'd accompany the action with a glance half-filled with doubt. Just as she had learned his language, he had learned hers. He had learned when and how she liked to play.

"Just you," repeated she as she reached slowly numbing fingers to her husband's shoulder. Tugging him down lightly, she stopped for a moment to reach up on her tip toes and press a chaste kiss to his cheek. "There's no one else in the entire world I'd rather cuddle than you."

Her husband turned his face away from the road and towards her once more, that look in his eye. The one that told her he was happy. His smile would seem subdued to others, perhaps not as bright or even as charming as others, but she wasn't looking at his mouth just yet. She was captured by the amethyst eyes that were looking at her, a spark in them that drew her in and set her feet on the ground and her head in the air. It electrified her body and soothed her spirit.

She could hear the 'me too' that resonated in his kiss. However short, however chaste so they could continue their route home, he made it perfectly clear.

And she would have it no other way.

 _ **A/N: I would like to thank Snavej for pumping me with random ideas. X'D**_


End file.
